Vasco BalboaExplorers for Kids

For Kids

Balboa was a Spanish explorer. He was the first European to see
the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean.

He was from a noble family, but his family was not wealthy. He was a
wonderful swordsman, and for a while, taught other young men the
arts of war and swordplay. But that didn't really pay very well. Nor
did it carry the prestige he hoped to achieve in his life. He
decided to come to the New World in search of riches, as other young
men of the time had before him. He headed
for the Spanish colonies in the New World.

For a while, he was pig farmer. But he was not a successful one. He
stowed away on a ship, and brought his dog with him. Whether it as
his dog or Balboa's personality, rather than throw him overboard,
when discovered, the captain made him a cabin boy. He learned about
ships and sailing and explorations.
He was able to join some other explorations, in a higher capacity,
in charge of five men. From there, he continued upward in
responsibility and success.

On one of his trips along the
coast of South America, he was able to collect some treasure, but he
had a rough time because the natives were not friendly. They killed
several of his men with poisoned darts. He sailed
north, towards what today is Panana. There, the natives were
friendly, and were willing to trade their gold and food for
trinkets. Still, the little he collected would not give him the fame
he seeked.

Balboa had heard tales of a large sea on the other side of the
Central American peninsula. Balboa set off on land, from the city of
Darian, a city he founded, in the northern part of South America. He
traveled through the jungles of Panama, in search of this fabled
sea. He was also searching for gold, of course. He was always
searching for gold and pearls and other treasure. He hoped to impress King Ferdinand, the king of Spain, with a
discovery of riches. But Balboa did not find gold. He did, however, find the
Pacific Ocean, and claimed it and all its shores for Spain. He named
it Mar del Sur, because he thought he had traveled south to find it.
Later on, Magellan renamed it Mar Pacifica, because when Magellan
first saw the Pacific Ocean, the Ocean was especially calm that day.
And Magellan's name stuck.